Trends in Sharp Injuries Among Nurses in Massachusetts Hospitals

Details

• Personal Author:
  Laramie AK ; Reid M ; Sparer-Fine E
• Description:
  Background: Sharps injuries (SIs) continue to be an outstanding occupational health hazard for healthcare workers due to the potential exposure to bloodborne infectious diseases. Nurses, especially, are at a high risk of SIs due to the frequent use of sharps devices. Previous research has estimated that 11% of nurses experienced an SI within a 12-24 month time period, while 64% of all nurses experienced at least one SI during their career. Methods: Occupational incident surveillance data among nurses from 2002-2018 from the Massachusetts Sharps Injury Surveillance system were analyzed. Injuries were grouped into three categories for comparison based on the year in which the SI occurred. Chi-squared and Cochran-Armitage trend tests were used to compare SIs between the three time periods and assess trends. Results: In 2002-2004, 2009-2011, and 2016-2018, a total of 10,400 SIs (38% of all reported SIs) were sustained by nurses. Across all 3-year categories, nurses were most often injured in inpatient units, excluding Intensive Care Units (40-43%), injured by hypodermic needle/syringes (45-55%), and injured by devices used for injections, (36-49%), specifically through subcutaneous injections (45-81%). SIs with devices associated with injection procedures have increased 14% while SIs with devices associated with blood procedures have decreased 8%, P < 0.01. Within injection procedures, SIs occurring through "activating sharps injury protection feature" and "patient moved and jarred device" increased from 2002-2004 by 12%, and 6%, respectively, P< 0.01. From 2002-2004 to 2016-2018, the number of SIs with devices without an engineered sharps injury protection (SESIP) mechanism have decreased by 20%, P< 0.01. Conclusions: Nurses are at an increased risk of experiencing a SI due to the frequent procedures involving sharps devices. Understanding the specific factors that contribute to SIs will enable the development of targeted interventions aimed at preventing SIs. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Blood Epidemiology Health Personnel Hematologic Diseases Needlestick Injuries Occupational Exposure Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Author Keywords: Surveillance Bloodborne Diseases Health Care Workers Needlestick Injuries Nurses Nursing Occupational Exposure Sharps Surveillance
• Publisher:
  American Public Health Association
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Massachusetts ; OSHA Region 1
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20066458
• Citation:
  Creating the Healthiest Nation: Preventing Violence. APHA 148th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 24-28, 2020, virtual event. Washington, DC: American Public Health Association, 2020 Oct; :477821
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2021
• Performing Organization:
  Massachusetts State Department of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Creating the Healthiest Nation: Preventing Violence. APHA 148th Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 24-28, 2020, virtual event
• End Date:
  20260630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f0ba52f692c395961288416ff7ec08c7c34edc55005c4355fa073deb64e5cb8680f8f92c641b3efe13bb404c4f6788ca1d2bfa86f26fba7fc20e798ac778f599
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/231094/cdc_231094_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 76.91 KB ]